Wonderful Chris Wakelin sends helpless Stephen Hendry crashing out of the English Open
A helpless Stephen Hendry bowed out of the English Open second round after going down 4-0 against an inspired Chris Wakelin in Milton Keynes on Tuesday.
The seven-time World champ booked his place at the Marshall Arena with a 4-1 win over Michael White in September.
However, the 52-year-old could only muster 18 points as he was dealt the ruthless punishment he would notoriously dish out during his heyday.
Wakelin lay down a marker from Hendry’s opening break-off; crashing in a marvellous 135 total clearance, before controlling the second frame to double his lead.
The world number 65, who was beaten by the Scotsman when they met at the British Open in August, had not progressed beyond the English Open second round since reaching the quarter-finals of the inaugural event in 2016.
But Wakelin was not to be denied a last-32 berth this time around.
Indeed, he remained firmly in the zone; a brilliant break of 141 was followed by a swift 85 clearance that rounded off a thumping win.
Wakelin will play practice partner Mark Selby in the third round after the World champion saw off Jamie Wilson 4-1.
Elsewhere, four-time Crucible king John Higgins ruthlessly punished the mistakes of a wasteful Oliver Lines with breaks of 89, 88, 84 and 70 securing a 4-0 whitewash.
World number one Judd Trump hit a top break of 111 in his 4-2 victory over Jimmy Robertson, while a wonderful 135 total clearance was the highlight as Kyren Wilson defeated Ashley Carty by the same scoreline.
Mark Davis – runner-up at this event in 2018 – produced an inspired turnaround from 3-0 down to stun former World champion Graeme Dott in a deciding frame, while Barry Hawkins twice came from behind to scrape past Jak Jones.
However, there was no joy for Stuart Bingham. Despite recovering from 2-0 down to lead Fergal O’Brien 3-2, the 2018 champion was ousted on the final blue.
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English Open 2021 Day Two Results
Tuesday November 2
Last 64
Xiao Guodong 2-4 Steven Hallworth
Anthony McGill 4-0 Gerard Greene
Cao Yupeng 0-4 Mark King
Kyren Wilson 4-2 Ashley Carty
Ross Muir 4-1 Wu Yize
Xu Si 0-4 Zhao Xintong
Barry Hawkins 4-3 Jak Jones
Jamie Wilson 1-4 Mark Selby
Judd Trump 4-2 Jimmy Robertson
Chang Bingyu 3-4 Paul Deaville
Soheil Vahedi 1-4 Robbie Williams
Mark Davis 4-3 Graeme Dott
Fergal O’Brien 4-3 Stuart Bingham
Sunny Akani 4-3 Ricky Walden
John Higgins 4-0 Oliver Lines
Mark Joyce 0-4 Jamie Clarke
Stephen Hendry 0-4 Chris Wakelin